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And
now we come to the really interesting part: the alternate victory
conditions. The Royalists and Radicals have a special condition
that can end the game prematurely. Several provinces are marked
with a "CR" symbol (for Counter-Revolution). If at any
moment (in turns three and four only) seven of these provinces are
controlled by a single white faction (two tied white faction stacks
do not count), a Royalist victory occurs. Players count up all the
white blocks they control on the map, in their display, and in their
hand, and the player with the most wins, regardless of the number
of victory points he has. In addition, "lost" battles
(battles which end in a tie) count as a controlled "CR"
province, adding yet another layer. The Radical victory occurs on
any turn in which the election results in the reds controlling 17
or more provinces (Paris counts as up to three). Again, add up the
red influence of each player and ignore victory points.
What emerges from this initially convoluted set of ideas is an essentially simple game that is rich in interesting decisions. The gameplay is straightforward: play a card or draw a card. A couple of runs-through on the tie-breakers should suffice, and after that, it's a transparent design. But the decision points are deliciously fiendish. Is it better to ensure a victory this turn in a province, or spread out your blocks to perhaps gain two or three (or none)? Is your opponent trying for a Counter-Revolution? Or does he just want you to think that as he angles for a conventional victory? Should I consign Monsieur Danton to the guillotine, or save the blade for another foe? The card drawing mechanism has a potential flaw, in that due to the relative inequities of the cards (some have one block and others have three), the face-up cards may settle into a fixed array of "undesirable" cards, and subsequent card draws will all come from the face-down stack. In my experience, these static positions are short-lived, as it's often more important to be able to control the region of influence than the amount of influence. In addition, the tempo of the game can be affected by drawing an unpopular card, as other players may pause to draw if you unearth a "good" card. However, a very simple house rule could resolve these situations if they are commonplace in a particular game group; I recommend playing it at least twice without resorting to this. At times, the game feels richly themed, as some rules abstractly reflect the historical concerns of the period. For instance, the fact that lost battles result in a permanent Counter-Revolutionary "province" does a credible job of elegantly portraying the natural result of a botched military campaign (as France was too divided and chaotic to defend herself, thus providing de facto support to the "law and order" faction). I suspect that people who have no interest in the French Revolution will feel left out by this, and that's unfortunate, as at other points the game is clearly abstract and just like many other excellent "German" games, where clever gameplay is juxtaposed with fairly tangential themes. My principal caveat about the game is the potential for nastiness in the play of special cards. It isn't terribly difficult to assault another player by removing his blocks or beheading his powerful personalities (and of course, you may expect the same treatment!). This may be a negative factor in some game groups, and certainly diminishes the game's appeal as a "family" game, despite the straightforward rules and time commitment (two hours and less is quite reasonable). Those same factors, however, give it even greater appeal to more serious gamers, as the game packs many interesting and difficult decisions into a manageable time frame, and allows some conflict which is so often missing from "German" games. If the game were merely a "majority influence" game, it would be a decent, but simple and not terribly noteworthy game. But the battles and especially the alternate victory conditions allow a good deal of scope for subtle play. LIBERTE’ is a rewarding strategy game, playable in about two hours, that doesn't feel dry or ponderous, and involves a host of interesting decisions. I'm very glad that I added it to my collection. Jon Waddington lives in the Denver area, where he plays German games (and the too-infrequent wargame) with family and friends. Sometimes they even let him win. Jon Waddington lives in the Denver metro area, and although he's a recent convert to German-style gaming, he still enjoys a fast-paced wargame now and then. |
 THE
KILLING GROUND covers the entire campaign from mid July
with the Allied attacks on Caen and St. Lo, through the
German destruction of the German forces trapped in the
Falaise pocket. The burden of attack is always on the
Allied side. To win the Allies must avoid a stalemate
and breakout to exit units into Brittany and southeast
off the map. The Germans can win in one of two ways: bleed
the Allies and after the breakthrough launch a bold counter
offensive to cut them in two or conserve their units while
planning for the withdrawal from Normandy, getting as
many units out as possible before the Allies close the
trap. The game will come boxed, with two full color 22" x 34" maps, drawn at a scale of 2.5 km to the hex . They cover from Argentan in the south to the coast, and from Liseux in the east to the base of the Brittany peninsula SW of Avranches. 900 full color counters represent regiments , with armor sometimes handled as battalions. Nato symbols for all units except tanks, which use colored silhouettes . A pair of player aid cards , a 8.5" x 22" turn record/ reinforcement chart, 8.5" x 11" Allied Air display, two dice, and Allied Corp/Army Support Point tracks round out the package. The game system uses a chit draw that makes the combat strengths of units unknown to both sides until the moment of combat. The system is similar, but not identical to, the one found in the SPI classic OPERATION TYPHOON and the VICTORY IN THE WEST system. There have been changes made to the system, some obvious, some more subtle . While purists may wince, early playtests showed that the system needed tweaking to accurately reflect the historical situation . For instance, the CRT used to be unilateral - only one side ever took losses . This led to the Allies simply making limited high odds attacks and thus avoid taking casualties. Obviously not what happened in real life. The role of armor has been expanded to model both combined arms as well as tactical and technical superiority. This is accomplished simply - armored units are rated with dots on the counters, with the side with more dots in a combat being given favorable combat shifts. The air system has been expanded to show not only combat support missions, but Carpet Bombing , Supply and Movement Interdiction. While designed as a two player game, it works even better as a four player game. Both sides start with two armies each - the Germans with the 5th Panzer and the 7th, and the Allies with their American First Army and the British Second Army . Thus, each player gets their own army. Later on, there are rules for the entry of Patton's Third Army and the Canadian First Army as well. In addition, the terrain and situation in each army sector demand a different method of play . The German 5th Panzer must dig in and hold the British at all costs, preventing the breakthrough that could seal the fate of its neighbor. The British are trying to capture the D Day objective of Caen, as well as tie down the bulk of the German mechanized forces to allow the Americans freedom to break out and race into the interior of France and the Brittany peninsula. The Americans are trying to fight through some of the worst terrain encountered in the war. And the German Seventh Army must maintain a balance between inflicting as many losses on the Americans while preserving his own forces. Players could play the game four times and only just begin to scratch the surface of the possible outcomes. The campaign games start off as somewhat frustrating for the Allied player(s). The Germans are well entrenched, and have not taken very many losses . Compounding this is the slow buildup of Allied supply, reflected through the Support Point mechanism. Early on, the Allies had not cleared the recently liberated port of Cherbourg and were still bringing in supplies over the beaches . Thus, the Allied player will be somewhat limited in what he can accomplish.
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